


The Duel

by Sir_Weston



Category: South Park
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Duelling, Episode: s11e08 Le Petit Tourette, Eric Cartman Being Eric Cartman, Falling In Love, M/M, Making Out, Re-imagining, Rivalry, Tourette's Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-03-12 03:18:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13538565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Weston/pseuds/Sir_Weston
Summary: Thomas has never had an easy time making friends, seeing how he unintentionally scares them off with his Tourette's syndrome. But when he moves to South Park, he catches the eye of two boys who are eager to get to know him better, but aren't willing to share with the other. But then again, Craig and Cartman have always been extremely stubborn.When the two boys butt heads for Thomas's attention, who will Thomas choose in the end? And why is Kyle always getting stuck in the middle of things?





	1. Thomas Moves In

**Author's Note:**

> There aren’t enough stories of Craig with Thomas without it involving cheating on Tweek in some way, so I came up with the idea of this story. I wanted to do a story of Craig and Thomas falling in love with each other without making it too generic. Think of it as sort of a massive retelling of the “Le Petit Tourette” episode. Also, I’ve aged them up to fifteen in this story because I can. Also, I just feel better writing romance between characters if they’re a bit older. This story will most likely be a bit shorter than my other stories. Anyway, with all of that out of the way, I hope you enjoy!

Thomas stared sadly out the window at the passing trees and buildings, already anticipating the horrified and disgusted looks he would be getting at his new school. No one ever understood him. No one ever liked him. This was the fourth time this year his mom was moving him to a new town, a new school. He was getting sick of pretending that he could ever be normal, or that anyone would accept him.

Sighing, Thomas turned back to look at the floor of the car. He didn’t really want to look at this town that he would likely move out of in a few months anyway. And it wasn’t like he could help it in any way.

“SHIT!” he exclaimed suddenly, turning his head, as if he were coughing. His mother didn’t even bat an eye at Thomas’s sudden outburst. Thomas turned back to the window.

“Mom, why do we have to move all the time?” he asked after a minute, “COCK! Why do we have to pretend this is going to work?” His mother didn’t answer at first. She pretended to be too busy driving to reply.

Grumbling, Thomas folded his arms across his chest and decided to remain silent until they reached their new house. He refused to think of it as their new home, as he knew they were just going to move again in a few months.

It didn’t take long to get to their new house, as this town wasn’t very big. They were in a small neighborhood where all the houses were the same shape and size, only in different colors. Thomas sighed. He already didn’t like it here. He could already tell they weren’t going to accept him here.

His mother pulled up to a bland brown colored house that, of course, was no different from all the other houses other than the color. The moving truck pulled up behind them and Thomas’s mom hopped out of the car to talk to the man driving. Thomas got out as well and stared up at the house.

“BALLS!” he shouted, “COCK!”

“Hey kid!” a man walking by on the opposite side of the street called, “Watch your mouth! This is a family friendly neighborhood!”

Thomas bowed his head in shame. “Sorry, sir,” he muttered. He wasn’t sure if the man heard him, though, as he had already stomped away. Sighing, he decided to just save himself any more embarrassment and picked up one of the boxes and headed into the house.

 

“I know this isn’t an ideal situation, dear, but you need your education,” Thomas’s mother explained as she drove him to school the next day, “Don’t worry, I’m going to go in with you and talk to the principal so everyone understands your special condition.”

Thomas let out a groan. “Can you go in separate from me so no one sees me walking into to school with my mom?” he requested. She had walked him into school all the previous times, and it didn’t exactly make Thomas look good.

His mother sighed and tsked. “All right, dear, because you asked so nicely,” she replied. Thomas sighed with relief. At least that was one thing he didn’t have to worry about.

Letting out a quick shout of profanity, Thomas got out of the car and slung his backpack over his shoulder before looking at the school. Many teenagers were roaming around, meeting with their friends and lovers before school. A luxury Thomas knew he wasn’t going to have.

Thomas walked past all of these teens as he headed into the school. He didn’t look at anyone, and didn’t see the black haired chullo wearing boy stare at him as he walked by. He had his schedule clutched tight in his hand, which he briefly looked at so he could see what room his homeroom was in. He walked down the hallway, scanning the room numbers until came to the right one. He had been hoping the room would be empty when he got there so he could have a few minutes to collect himself before school started.

Unfortunately, there was already someone there.


	2. Wide Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas starts to meet some of the students and seems to actually make a few friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let’s see who was obviously in the classroom when Thomas came in!

Thomas frowned slightly at the group of five who were already in the classroom. Great, now he was probably going to shout profanity and they were going to get angry at him or something. Not that he wasn’t used to that. He tried to ignore their stares as he made his way to the back of the room. He stared down at his schedule, trying to memorize it while simultaneously ignoring the conversation of the five. It didn’t help, though that they were talking as loud as possible.

“Cartman, stop staring it’s rude!”

“Shut up, Kyle! I’m just checking out the new kid. Making sure he doesn’t come off as a threat.” Thomas heard the boy, Kyle scoff.

“Right, like you would be able to beat him up if he did,” he said sarcastically.

“I could!” Cartman claimed.

“No, you couldn’t. You couldn’t beat an egg.”

“Shut up, Kenny! Nobody asked you!”

“Do you have to be so loud all the time, Cartman? I’m pretty sure you’re freaking out the new kid.” Damn. Thomas was hoping they didn’t notice how unnerved he was.

“Like I give a rat’s ass, Stan,” Cartman scowled.

“Gee fellas, isn’t a little early to be fightin?” The blond boy rubbed his knuckles together in nervousness.

“Butters, fuck off.”

Thomas really was trying his best to ignore them. He wished the fat one wasn’t talking so loud. It was like his normal volume was at shouting level. He couldn’t stand it much longer.

“DICKS!”

The five boys immediately stopped talking. Thomas tried hard not to look at them, even though he could feel them staring at him.

“COCK! PISS!”

“Whoa,” Cartman muttered under his breath.

“Dude,” Stan said in a hushed voice, “You shouldn’t shout obscenities like that. You’ll get in trouble.”

Thomas let out a quiet but annoyed sigh. Time to explain his condition. Again. “I can’t help it,” he explained, “I have Tourette’s syndrome.” The five boys stared at him in confusion.

“Well gee, what’s Tourette’s syndrome?” the boy, Butters asked, rubbing his knuckles together. Thomas briefly wondered if he was aware he did that.

“It’s a rare condition that some people have,” Kyle explained before Thomas could, surprising him, “I think it’s a nervous system disorder or something. The person has an uncontrollable tick, like shouting or shaking their head or anything like that.”

“Wow, someone who actually knows about my condition,” Thomas murmured. The person out of who knows how many. Kyle averted his gaze.

“I like to stay educated,” he said, then casted a glare at the fat boy, “Unlike some people,” he growled. Cartman looked incredulous.

“What?” he muttered, “I haven’t done anything!”

Kyle rolled his eyes then turned to Thomas. “So, new kid, what’s your name?” he asked.

“Um, Thomas,” he replied, a little shyly. “SHIT! I wouldn’t get too attached, though. I’ll probably be gone in a month.”

“How come?” Stan wondered.

“Because I’m constantly being moved around,” Thomas sighed, “I’d uh, rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”

Cartman opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but the morning bell rang. More students came pouring into the room for homeroom. Thomas watched as a small group of four boys came in and took seats in the front of the room. He couldn’t help but notice one of the boys, a boy with jet-black hair and wearing a blue chullo hat stare right at him before sitting down. Cartman seemed to notice Thomas staring at the group, because he leaned over.

“That’s Craig,” he informed him, “And his loser friends, Clyde, Jimmy, and Token. I would stay away from them if I were you. They’re trouble.”

“Oh, um, thanks,” Thomas replied, tearing his gaze away. He hadn’t meant to stare back at Craig, but there was something enticing about him. Damn it if Thomas could figure out what it was, though.

After morning announcements, the first bell rang and the students all rushed out of the room. Thomas was about to follow them when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Kyle standing there.

“Hey man, you want some help finding your first class?” he asked.

Thomas blinked at him. “Uh, yes, thank you,” he replied, hastily, “Sorry, I’m not used to people being nice to me. PISS! COCK! Ugh, usually everyone just stays away from me.”

Kyle gave him a friendly smile. “Don’t worry about it, man,” he said, “I think you’ll find that South Park is a bit different from other places. We’re all a bit insane here.”

With that statement, Kyle led the way out of the room, with Thomas wondering if he should be scared or not. He rushed out of the room after Kyle.

“So, what’s your first class?” Kyle asked when he had caught up. Thomas dug his schedule out of his pocket and looked at it.

“Um, English,” he answered after a moment. He saw Kyle grin.

“Is it with Miss Terry?” he wondered. Thomas looked again.

“Yes?”

“Heh, looks like we’re both in luck. That’s my first class as well,” Kyle told him. Thomas actually felt a small smile come onto his face. Well, at least that meant there would be one person who he sort of knew in his class. And if nothing else, Kyle could help him explain his condition to the teacher.

“That’s great,” he said earnestly.

When they got to the classroom, Thomas saw that Craig was there as well. As he stepped into the room, Craig looked up from where he sat in the back of the class next to his black friend, Token. Thomas tried not to stare back as he took a seat next to Kyle near the front of the room.

“Why is that Craig kid staring at me?” he leaned over and whispered to Kyle. A look of surprise entered Kyle’s face, and he turned his head very slightly to see.

“Huh, I have no idea,” he replied after he turned back, “Usually Craig goes out of his way to avoid eye contact with everyone. He’s not a very social guy most of the time.”

Thomas shivered slightly, which Kyle noticed. He leaned over to him. “Don’t listen to what Cartman says,” he told him, “Craig and his friends are pretty relaxed most of the time. Cartman just doesn’t like Craig because Craig punched his lights out once.”

“Why did he do that?” Thomas wondered. Kyle tilted his head to think.

“Huh, I can’t really remember,” he said, “I’m sure Cartman deserved it though. He’s kind of an idiot.”

“Aren’t you his friend?”

Kyle let out a huge sigh. “Yeah!” he muttered.

Their conversation dropped when the bell rang and the teacher came in. Miss Terry, a woman in her mid-50’s, smiled brightly at the class.

“Good morning, students!” she exclaimed, “Before we begin, I believe we have a new student in class!”

Thomas felt his heart drop and his temperature rise. Oh no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can’t tell, Thomas doesn’t like having the attention drawn to him. Next time we’ll get more interaction between him and Craig and his friends. Reviews are appreciated.


	3. Craig and his Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas has to introduce himself, even if he doesn't want to.  
> And he doesn't want to.

Thomas’s breath caught in his throat as Miss Terry turned to him. “Would you mind standing up and introducing yourself, young man?” she requested.

Yes, I would, actually, Thomas thought as he tried not to start trembling. He had never been good in front of people. Every time he went to a new school, he was forced to introduce himself, and then he would shout an obscenity which would make everyone uncomfortable.

Shuddering, Thomas stood and turned to the class. He caught Kyle giving him a reassuring smile, but it did little to calm his nerves. Then he noticed Craig staring right at him, and for a moment his heart stopped.

Taking a deep breath, Thomas tried to speak. “Um, my name is Thomas,” he muttered just loud enough for the class to hear, “Uh, I guess I’m new here. Obviously.” He could almost hear the class roll their eyes at his awkwardness.

“Is there anything you would like to tell us about yourself?” Miss Terry wondered.

Not really. “Uh, I have Tourette’s Syndrome,” he replied. At that moment he heard about five people mutter “what’s Tourette’s Syndrome?”

“Oh yes, the principal told me about you,” Miss Terry said, ignoring the class, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re not judged here.”

“Thank you,” Thomas mumbled. “SHIT!”

Most of the class gasped. Thomas tried to suppress his urge to roll his eyes. “COCK!” he shouted instead. The class gasped again.

“Now class, calm down,” Miss Terry tutted, “Thomas can’t help shouting those things. That’s what Tourette’s Syndrome is. We must try to be tolerant. Now, Thomas, why don’t you take your seat and we can get started.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Thomas muttered, and took his seat next to Kyle. He felt the ginger lean over and pat his arm.

It was like this for the rest of the day. Luckily, God must have been feeling generous and put Kyle in all of Thomas’s classes. It made it a lot less awkward to have someone he at least sort of knew with him. He also discovered that Craig and Cartman were in a majority of his classes as well.

When lunch time came, Kyle led Thomas over to a table where his friends were, and Thomas was rather surprised to see Craig and his friends there as well.

“I thought you guys didn’t get along with them, SHIT!” Thomas said to Kyle.

“Nah, only Cartman doesn’t get along with them, but then again, Cartman doesn’t really get along with anyone,” Kyle explained, “Kenny, Stan, and I are pretty cool with them.”

They reached the table and Kyle sat down next to Stan. The only other available seat was in between Cartman and Craig, so Thomas nervously took a seat.

“Hey,” he greeted, his nerves just barely holding together.

“So, you decided to join us, eh?” Cartman asked, “Wise choice. You don’t want to end up having to sit next to a bunch of losers. Though, it’s still debatable whether or not we’ll keep you.” Stan rolled his eyes.

“Cartman, knock it off,” he scolded, “Stop trying to scare him away.”

“It’s ok,” Thomas assured, “I’m fine. DICK ASS!”

“If I could shout ‘dick ass’ in the middle of the cafeteria, I would be sooo happy,” Thomas heard someone mutter beside him. He looked over and it took him a moment to realize that it was Craig who had spoken.

“You would?” he asked, surprised.

“Sure,” Craig replied. He held out his hand. “I’m Craig. Sorry for staring at you all day. I just found you rather fascinating.”

Wow, this kid is blunt, Thomas thought as he took Craig’s hand. That wasn’t a bad thing, though. He often wished people would just come forward and say what was really on their minds. This was refreshing.

“Um, thank you?” Thomas wasn’t really sure whether to take it as a compliment or not.

Craig grinned and was about to say something more, but he was interrupted by a loud huff. “Don’t talk to him, Craig! He’s way too cool for someone like you!”

Startled, Thomas turned and saw Cartman glaring at Craig. Wait, Cartman thought he was… cool? Was this really happening to him? What was going on?

Craig glared back at the fat boy. “I can talk to whoever I want, fatass,” he hissed. He turned back to Thomas. “What are you doing after school?”

“ASS! Er, I’m not really sure,” Thomas replied a bit nervously, “I haven’t finished unpacking yet, so I’ll probably be doing that. SHIT! COCK!”

“Would you mind terribly if I asked to hang out with you?” Craig wondered. Thomas blinked in surprise.

“I, uh, I guess I don’t mind,” he murmured. He could feel Cartman still glaring.

…

When school got out for the day, Craig walked beside Thomas as he headed towards his mother’s car. She beamed when she saw them.

“Thomas!” she exclaimed, “Did you make a new friend?”

“Yes, ‘mam,” Thomas answered as they climbed into the car, “This is Craig.”

“Nice to meet you, Craig!” she greeted, “I’m so glad my little Thomas has made a new friend already!” Thomas blushed and turned away as Craig smiled warmly.

“We haven’t talked for very long, but your son is very interesting,” Craig told her.

“PISS!” Thomas shouted. He was a bit embarrassed with how surprised his mother looked. He didn’t want her to make it look like a loser who never had any friends. I mean, he was, but Craig didn’t need to know that.

They got to Thomas’s house and Thomas took Craig upstairs. His room was a mess with scattered boxes everywhere, and only about half of his stuff put away. He wasn’t really into it, seeing how he didn’t know how long they would actually be living here.

Craig looked around what was put out with fascinated eyes. Thomas blushed a little.

“I know it’s not much,” he muttered, “We don’t stay in one place for very long, so I don’t really get into unpacking. I just unpack the things I need and leave the rest in boxes.”

“That’s a bit sad,” Craig replied, “Why do you keep moving?”

“Mostly because of me,” Thomas sighed, “I have trouble making friends, so my mom keeps picking us up and moving us to someplace else. It gets really annoying. I just want to be able to stay in one place for more than a month.”

Craig sat down on the bed and shuffled his feet for a while. “Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you stick around for a while,” he said, “I want to get to know you better.”

Thomas could almost feel his heart burst out of his chest. “Really? ASS! SHIT! Um, I guess it would be nice to get to know you better as well.”

Craig smiled gently. But before either of them could say anything more, Thomas’s mom called up to them. “Thomas! Some more of your little friends are here!”

Looking at Craig in surprise, Thomas rushed down the stairs and was surprised by who he saw at the door.


	4. Eric Cartman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who was at Thomas's door? Well who the hell do you think?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry this and my other stories have taken so long to update. I’ve been really feeling my depression lately, and it’s hard for me to get motivated to write when I’m like this. I start to feel like all my work is crap when I get like that. I’ll try to have chapters up sooner.)

Thomas stared in surprise at Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny standing in the doorway. He opened his mouth to ask how they found out where he lived, but an angry growl from behind him cut him off.

“What are you doing here, Eric?” Craig hissed at the fat boy.

Cartman glared up at the black-haired boy and scowled. “I came to visit the new kid,” he declared, “I’m allowed to do that. Besides, we saw him first.”

Beside him, Kyle sighed and rolled his eyes. “Cartman, don’t be a child,” he scolded, “Thomas isn’t like some toy at the store that you want.”

“Yeah, and besides, I saw him first,” Craig muttered low enough that only Thomas could hear. Thomas looked at him, then looked back at Cartman and the others.

“Well, I’m flattered that you guys came to visit me,” he told them, “SHIT BALLS! I’m sort of hanging out with Craig right now. PISS! But, er, if you want we could all hang out together.” Before anyone could answer, Thomas’s anxiety got the better of him and he started speaking rapidly. “Or not! We don’t have to if you don’t want to! We could hang out some other time! Whatever you guys want!”

“I’m good for hanging out,” Kenny said before anything could get too awkward.

“As long as you and Craig are willing, Thomas,” Kyle added.

Thomas had to admit, he did want to hang out with them. It was rather nice that there were people who actually seemed to want to be around him. He never had friends before, and it was a nice change of pace.

But he was also worried about upsetting Craig. He and Cartman clearly didn’t like each other, and it was nice hanging out with Craig alone. But he also didn’t want to upset Kyle and his friends either. What should he do?

“It’s ok if you want them to join us, Thomas,” Craig said softly beside him, “It’s your house. I promise I don’t mind. You should want to make a lot of friends.”

Thomas gave him a grateful smile before turning to the others. “Come on up. ASS CRACK!” he called.

Smiling, Kyle started up the stairs with Stan, Kenny, and Cartman following. Thomas led them all to his room, embarrassed that there were boxes everywhere. He hadn’t thought he would have company, so he hadn’t even gotten his game systems out yet. Even though it was somewhat justifiable that almost none of his stuff was unpacked. He did just move in a day ago.

It was just a bit cramped in Thomas’s room. The entire house was rather small, and his room definitely wasn’t built to hold six people. Luckily there was still enough room for everyone to find a seat, either on the bed or the floor.

“So, Thomas, what kind of games you got?” Cartman asked, looking around at the towers of boxes. He was sitting on a box labeled “fragile.”

“Mostly single player games,” Thomas admitted, “I, uh, never had any friends to play games with, so I didn’t really see a point in getting a lot of multiplayer games. I do have a few Mario Party and Mario Kart games, though.”

“Ooh! Ooh! I will destroy all of you at Mario Kart!” Kenny exclaimed, “Doesn’t matter which one it is, I rock at all of them!”

“No, Kenny! None of want to sit here and listen to you gloat and brag about how undefeatable you are at Mario Kart!” Kyle objected, rolling his eyes.

“SHIT! CRAP!” Thomas exclaimed, “I don’t know, I think I could beat him.” Kenny looked like the teen had just committed a murder.

“Blasphemy!” he shouted, pointing, “No one has ever defeated me as Bowser! I take offence to that!”

Thomas grinned. “Really? You use Bowser?” he taunted, “ASS! How do you win all the time then?” Kenny was absolutely outraged.

He took off an imaginary glove and metaphorically slapped Thomas with it. “I challenge you, sir!” Kenny demanded in an over-the-top manner, “We will race to see who is truly the best at Mario Kart!”

“Hey Kenny,” Stan said, “Maybe dial back the enthusiasm a little? You’re kind of freaking me out.”

Half an hour later after Thomas set up his Wii U for Mario Kart 8, the best Mario Kart, He, Kenny, Craig, and Stan were on the last race of the Grand Prix to determine who was the winner. Kenny was playing as Bowser, while Thomas raced as Luigi, Stan played Metal Mario, and Craig played Rosalina.

When Thomas destroyed Kenny in a 3 to 1 victory, Stan, Cartman, and Kyle burst into victorious laughter while Craig snickered, and Kenny stared on in horror. Thomas gave him a sheepish grin.

“I’ve put in countless of hours into this game,” he admitted, “COCK! When you live alone and have no friends what else do I have to do but play lots of Mario Kart?”

“Well, then, I have no choice but to bow to your skill,” Kenny said, giving Thomas an overly dramatic bow. Thomas chuckled, and Kyle rolled his eyes.

“You’re such a drama queen, Kenny,” he commented. Kenny grinned at him.

“Have you tried 200 cc yet?” Craig asked Thomas when they had picked up their controllers again.

“Yeah,” he replied. He hesitated a moment. “I’ve, er, beaten the whole game, actually.”

“Wow, you really are a master of this game,” Cartman commented, his voice holding a hint of respect. Thomas blushed slightly but didn’t say anything. He really didn’t want to embarrass himself by revealing that he spent pretty much all his free time on this game.

After Kenny declared a one-on-one rematch in which he lost to Thomas again, they all realized how late it was getting and they started to head home.

“Thanks for hanging out with us today,” Kyle said at the door, “Sorry if we were intruding. Cartman can be a bit aggressive.”

“It’s fine,” Thomas replied, waving him off, “It was nice getting to hang around so many people for once. ASSHOLE! People who didn’t mind my... you know.”

Kyle smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll see you tomorrow, all right? Come on guys!” he called to his friends.

Stan and Kenny bid good bye as they left, but Cartman stopped to talk. “If you ever want to ditch the losers and have some real fun, give me a call,” he told Thomas in a low voice. Then he followed his friends out the door as Thomas stared in confusion.

That left just Craig, who waited for everyone else to leave before stepping forward. “Hey, have fun today?” he asked.

“Y-Yeah,” Thomas admitted, “It’s nice having people to talk to and play games with. It was really nice. Um, sorry they interrupted us, though.”

“It’s all right,” Craig replied, smiling softly, “It’s good that you’re making friends so quickly. It’s probably always hard for a new kid to make friends easily. But I would like to hang out with you alone sometime. Maybe I could show you around town tomorrow after school?”

Thomas felt his heart leap in delight. “SHIT! COCK! I would like that,” he said, “Thank you, Craig.” He smiled at him and Craig smiled back.

“You’re welcome,” he said. Then he put an arm around Thomas in a brief hug before walking out the door.

Staring in surprise after him, it was several moments before Thomas finally shut the door. What was that hug about? Did Craig like him?!


	5. Declaring War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig thinks about where he wants his relationship with Thomas to go when he receives an unexpected visitor.

Craig laid on his bed with his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. He hoped he would get to hang out with Thomas again soon. And hopefully they would get to be alone next time. There was something that drew Craig to him, but he wasn’t sure what. Sure, the ability to shout swears with no discretion was pretty cool, but it was more than that.

Being the new kid must be hard, especially when he had to move around all the time. Craig would like to say he just wanted Thomas to feel welcomed, but again, he felt like there was more to it than that. Craig had never really thought about his sexuality much, but he sometimes couldn’t help but feel he was probably gay.

He had never been quite as interested in girls as the other guys were, and he didn’t get excited to talk about them like Clyde, Jimmy, and Token got. Maybe he was attracted to Thomas? Was that it? He wondered if Thomas would be ok with the fact that he was gay.

Rolling over onto his side, he saw that it was starting to get late, so he got up to get ready for bed. Before he could step foot in the bathroom, however, he heard a knocking on the front door. It sounded angry and violent. Craig waited a moment and when he realized no one was going to answer it, he sighed and headed down stairs.

The last person Craig expected to be at his door was Cartman. But there he was, and Craig was quite confused as to why.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he asked the fat boy. Cartman glared at him.

“I came here to warn you,” he scowled, “You’d better stay away from Thomas if you know what’s good for you. He’s way too cool for someone like you.”

Now it was Craig’s turn to glare. “Are you threatening me?” he hissed.

“Maybe,” Cartman scoffed, “Only if you get in my way.”

“Listen, fatass,” Craig warned, “Thomas is my friend now too, and you can’t force him to hang out with only you! Besides, I can kick your ass any day!”

“As if,” Cartman tsked, “Everyone knows I’m the toughest kid in school!”

“You cried for half an hour when you stubbed your toe last week!” Craig pointed out.

“Did not!” the fat boy protested, “Anyway, just stay away from Thomas!”

“Why?” Craig growled, “Do you have a crush on him or something?” He would feel guilty about teasing him, seeing as he probably had a crush on Thomas himself, but it was Cartman so he felt justified.

Especially when Cartman started blushing as red as tomato. Craig grinned evilly at him. “That’s it, isn’t it?” he jeered, “You like him, don’t you?”

“Sh-Shut up!” Cartman snapped, “That’s none of your business! If you don’t stay away from Thomas, then I’ll make you stay away!”

“Then it’s on, fat boy,” Craig growled, “Just try to stop me, fatass!” With that declaration of war, Craig slammed the door in Cartman’s face. He wouldn’t let him keep Thomas to himself. He would be sure of that.

…

When school rolled around the next day, Craig was waiting by the school entrance for Thomas. Clyde, Token, and Jimmy were with him, but he wasn’t really listening to what they were saying. He was just keeping a sharp eye out for Thomas’s car.

A minute later he saw it pull up and he quickly hopped up from where he was sitting on one of the steps. Without an explanation to his friends, he quickly went over to greet the dirty blond.

“Hey Thomas,” Craig greeted him with a small smile. Thomas whipped around in surprise, but relaxed when he saw who it was.

“SHIT BALLS! Oh, hey Craig,” Thomas said, smiling, “You startled me there. ASS!”

“Heh, yeah sorry,” the black-haired boy responded, scratching the back of his head, “But I thought it would be better to greet you instead of just waiting for you to turn around.”

Craig moved to stand beside Thomas as the two of them walked towards the school together. Craig’s friends looked up as they approached.

“Hey C-C-Craig! Makin’ friends with the new kid?” Jimmy asked him.

“Yeah. You guys have met Thomas, right?” Craig gently nudged the person in question, who gave them all a small smile.

“Hey guys. COCK!” Thomas greeted.

“Are you going to be hanging out with us today?” Token asked him.

“If that’s ok with you guys,” Thomas replied, blushing slightly.

“Of course it is,” Craig told him. As they walked towards the school, none of Craig’s friends noticed when Craig gently slipped his hand into Thomas’s.

And Craig’s heart leapt when Thomas softly entwined their fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter. I'll try to make the next one longer.


End file.
